{ The Aspens Flush with Fall Color }

We went to the San Bernardino mountains last weekend. This is what we came for:

Aspens glowing with fall color.

A stand of trees ablaze with yellow hues making the hillside appear on fire.

Plenty of logs to climb on.

A beautiful hike through the aspen groves.

We spent all afternoon there. Hiking and staring up at the beautiful trees. In a blink these leaves will be gone and the trees will stand naked for the winter. We had our moment and loved every minute.

For more on why leaves change colors in the fall click HERE.

A California Adventure Pass is required to park at the trail head, and a free wilderness permit must be obtained from the Mill Creek ranger station to hike on the trail.

{ The Berlin Wall - a Piece of History }

The Friends of the Ronald Reagan Sports Park arranged for a travelling section of the Berlin wall to be displayed at our sports park this weekend. It's a 12x8x4 foot section of the Berlin wall, which stood for 28 years, and came down on November 9, 1989 when the east Germans were finally allowed to cross over into west Germany, some smashing it with hammers and taking pieces of the wall with them as they crossed. This was the beginning of the fall of communism in Europe. The friends of the park referenced Reagan's "tear down that wall" speech as the impetus for taking it down. Let's not forget Pope John Paul II and his influence on the matter of the Berlin wall and communism. This piece of the Berlin wall will be installed in the Ronald Reagan Park in San Bernadino at the end of the month.

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{ Apple Picking in Oak Glen, or Not }

We went to Oak Glen this weekend to pick apples. We started by eating barbeque from the Los Rios orchard shop. Delicious. Then we talked to the docent at the Wildlands Conservancy. So, we decided to go on a walk along the one mile trail there. We stopped at the pond, picked and ate blackberries and met a dog who was enjoying lying in the stream. It was a bit hot. By the time we got back to the Oak Knoll park, we were worn out and decided to just buy some winesaps - only available in the store right now - and some cider and go home. We had apple pancakes and cider for dinner followed by the second half of our apple pie - not as good as Julian Pie Company, but not bad. All in all, a pretty good day.